Algeria launches 1st comms satellite

A Chinese Long March 3B rocket was used on December 11th to finally launch an Algerian satellite into orbit. The satellite had originally been planned to orbit in 2014.

The Chinese-built satellite, Alcomsat-1, was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The contract was with the China Great Wall Industry Corporation and included the build and launch and orbital delivery of Alcomsat-1.

The satellite is equipped with 22 Ku-band transponders (four 54MHz and 18 36MHz). The craft can support the transmission of up to 150~200 TV channels in standard definition.